Dubai: A man charged with stealing a prescription medicine from a pharmacy denied the accusation in a court on Thursday.

Prosecutors said the 22-year-old Emirati suspect, Y.M., walked into the pharmacy in Al Muraqabat and tried to steal a box of Tramal 100mg worth Dh26 but staff at the shop foiled his attempt and prevented him from leaving.

“No sir I did not steal anything,” Y.M. said as he faced the Dubai Court of First Instance.

The suspect’s lawyer Hamdi Al Sheewi contended that the evidence produced by prosecutors against his client was uncorroborated.

“Prosecutors failed to produce strong evidence against my client. He did not steal. This is a fictitious and fabricated case. The sole witness is the pharmacist who claimed that Y.M. stole the Tramal box. Later the witness failed to identify the suspect when the police lined up suspects. I cannot and do not understand how prosecutors build up this case based on unfounded evidence,” advocate Al Sheewi argued before Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad.

Prosecutors charged Y.M. with grabbing a box of medicine and fleeing the store. He was said to have tried to take away a number of boxes but the pharmacist and other workers apprehended him and prevented him from leaving the store. Records said the defendant pushed away the workers and ran out from the store with one box of the medicine.

Advocate Al Sheewi argued in courtroom three that his client suffered from mental and neurological illnesses.

“He also had two surgeries in his knees. He has a doctor’s prescription. He visited the same pharmacy several times prior to the incident. My client’s fingerprints were not found on the Tramal box that was confiscated by the police. Besides, the photographs in the case file did not prove that it was my client who took the medicine from the pharmacy. My client is diabetic and has blood pressure… all the reports and papers in the case file prove his innocence,” argued the lawyer.

The Indian pharmacist testified that when he became suspicious of the defendant’s intentions he refused to sell him medicine until he presented his identification.

“He took a number of Tramal boxes and when he tried to leave, I stopped him. One of my colleagues assisted me to prevent the suspect from leaving. He pushed us away and rushed out of the pharmacy with one box in his hands,” the witness said.

A verdict will be heard on September 3.